Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a Get Out The Vote rally at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C., Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Published February 13, 2024
Former President Trump doubled down on his criticism of NATO, arguing Monday that the military alliance was more robust under his leadership in the White House.
Trump claimed he made NATO “strong” during his administration by pressing members to pay more to meet the alliance’s defense spending targets. He urged the alliance to “equalize” and do the same thing today.
“I MADE NATO STRONG, and even the RINOS and Radical Left Democrats admit that,” Trump wrote Monday in a post on Truth Social. “When I told the 20 Countries that weren’t paying their fair share that they had to PAY UP, and said without doing that you will not have U.S. Military Protection, the money came rolling in.”
“After so many years of the United States picking up the tab, it was a beautiful sight to see. But now, without me there to say YOU MUST PAY, they are at it again,” he added
The former president’s remarks come in the face of scrutiny from various U.S. and top western officials after he shared a story at a South Carolina rally over the weekend about how an unidentified foreign leader once questioned him about his threat not to defend members who fail to reach the alliance’s defense spending targets.
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SOURCE: www.thehill.com
RELATED: What did Trump say about NATO funding and what is Article 5?
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during the National Rifle Association (NRA) Presidential Forum at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo… Purchase Licensing Rights
Published February 13, 2024
BRUSSELS, Feb 12 (Reuters) – (This Feb. 12 story has been corrected to specify that the size of the German defence fund is 100 billion euros in paragraph 19)
Former U.S. President Donald Trump raised a storm of criticism from the White House and top Western officials for suggesting he would not defend NATO allies who failed to spend enough on defence and would even encourage Russia to attack them.
Here are the answers to some key questions about NATO, the comments by Trump – who is running for another term in the White House in November and leading President Joe Biden in some polls – and their implications.
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SOURCE: www.reuters.com
RELATED: Trump’s threat to NATO allies draws little condemnation from GOP, reflecting his grip on the party
Published February 13, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s claim that he once told a NATO ally that he would encourage Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to “delinquent” members of the group sent shockwaves through Europe over the weekend.
But in Washington, most Republicans downplayed or defended remarks that seemed to invite Russian aggression.
“I was here when he was president. He didn’t undermine or destroy NATO,” said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, a longtime defense hawk.
“I think I’ll look at what his actions are rather than what his words are,” said Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who has been a strong supporter of NATO and of sending additional aid to Ukraine as the country enters its third year of war after Russia’s invasion.
